How to pick a great real estate agent

[Jenny Cuevas]

I  am in the process of buying my first home, I've met with two real estate agents and like them both for different reasons. What should I be looking for in a great real estate agent? Does this even matter? 

[Charlie MacPherson]

@Jenny Cuevas Hands down, #1.  

I'd want somebody who is up to his eyeballs in real estate, all day, every day.  That's how you learn the business.

The conventional wisdom is that to be an expert in *anything*, you need to put in 10,000 hours in that field.  It's pretty tough for part-timers to do that.  

For most, they have other means of income.  It's more of a hobby than the profession that feeds their family.